The Right Choice
by crazy-wild-and-free
Summary: Sequel to ACB/AHAC/NY Hayley's life seems ideal: she has an amazing daughter and a husband who loves her. But pretending to love him back hurts while her heart yearns in vain for the man she had to give up. Now, a sudden revelation will allow her to have everything she's always wanted, and give her a chance to get back all she'd sacrificed. Should she follow her head or her heart?
1. A Chance to Change Everything

_**Hey everyone!**_

 _ **This is the first thing that I've posted, let alone completely written in what feels like forever...but is really only just since April. This is an idea that popped into my head and I just had to write it. I think it's a good story idea for my journey back into writing after so long. I'm thinking it'll be either three or four chapters long at this point. That may change later but for now, three or four.**_

 _ **I hope you all enjoy reading it!**_

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ _I don't own anything associated with The Originals...I just like to play around with the characters. I only own the plot._

* * *

 _It's hard to pretend to love someone you don't. It's even harder to pretend not to love someone you do. Sometimes, though, you have to make sacrifices. But after all those sacrifices are made, what would you do if you got the chance to get back all that you sacrificed. Do you take that chance? Or do you not? Well, Hayley's about to find out which one she'll choose. Hayley/?_

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 **Chapter 1 - A Chance To Change Everything**

Hayley and Davina had officially been friends for a few weeks now. That fact being why Hayley didn't think anything of it when Davina called her and asked her to lunch. Hayley agreed to meet up with her once Hope woke up from her late morning nap and she hopefully found someone to watch her for a bit. Hayley didn't even think anything of it when Davina wouldn't tell her what the lunch was about. Hayley could tell by the sound of Davina's voice that lunch wasn't just going to be about two friends hanging out, but she still didn't think anything of it.

It wasn't until she asked where to meet Davina for lunch that Hayley started to wonder what was going on. The restaurant that Davina named was one that Hayley was pretty sure was all the way across town. Hayley was then both curious and confused as to what Davina could possibly want that required going all the way across town to meet up with each other. Hayley had questioned her some more about it but still got nothing out of her. If Hayley hadn't already wanted to meet Davina for lunch, she definitely did after that phone call. Which is what lead to this very moment.

After not being able to find anyone to watch Hope, which wasn't surprising given how crazy everyone's lives were lately with everything going on, Hayley found herself in a cute little diner like restaurant with Hope on one hip and a diaper bag on the other one. Hayley entered the diner and looked around for Davina. She found her sitting by herself in a back corner of the restaurant. Hayley made her way over there and greeted Davina with a small smile and a simple hello, which Davina returned.

"Here, can you hold Hope for a second?" Hayley asked as Davina stood up and took Hope from her arms. "I'm going to go get a high chair." Hayley turned and walked away, returning moments later with a high chair in her hand. "Thank you," she said with a smile as she took Hope back from Davina who promptly sat back down.

Hayley placed Hope in the high chair at the end of the booth and slid Hope's diaper bag against the wall before sliding into the booth across from Davina. Hope wiggled in her chair, desperately wanting free of the constricting seat before Hayley finally settled her by handing her a couple of sugar packets to keep her occupied. What real trouble was possibly cleaning up a little mess if it meant Hope was happy and content long enough for Hayley and Davina to talk about whatever was on Davina's mind?

"What's so important that I had to meet you all the way across town?" Hayley asked curiously once the waitress who had come over had left to go retrieve their drinks.

"There's something that I need to talk to you about," Davina answered, not revealing much of anything.

Hayley raised an eyebrow. "Something that constitutes damn near leaving the city to talk about?" she wondered out loud.

Davina nodded her head. "I figured this was probably going to be something you wouldn't want anyone we know hearing anything about just yet."

Now Hayley's interest was even more piqued than before. "You've got my attention," Hayley told her just as the waitress arrived with their drinks.

After setting their drinks down and taking their orders, the waitress walked away again.

After pouring milk into Hope's sippy cup and handing it to her, Hayley unwrapped a straw and put it into her drink before pushing it to the side. She leaned forward on her elbows with her hands clasped in front of her. "Alright, I'm all ears."

Davina took a sip of her drink before leaning forward towards her as well. "Well, I've been doing a bit of researching lately."

"What kind of research?" Hayley questioned, curiously.

"I've been searching for some spells that could help break certain bonds while also keeping what the bond was meant for in tact," Davina answered without hesitation.

At first, Hayley wasn't sure what Davina meant. But after giving it some more thought, it finally dawned on her what certain bond Davina was talking about. There was no way it could be true. Had Davina found a spell to break the bond and also maintain what it was meant for? No matter how much Hayley tried to think of any way that such a spell could exist let alone work, she couldn't come up with anything that made sense.

"How?" Hayley wondered. "Is there really a spell that could actually do both? This all sounds way too good to be true."

Davina shrugged a shoulder. "That is what I thought as well," Davina admitted. "At first," she added as an afterthought as she took another sip of her drink.

"What do you mean by you thought that at first?" Hayley asked, confused because none of this was making any sense at all.

"After finding out more about the bonding ritual, I realized that there was a loophole in it."

This was really sounding too good to be true, Hayley wasn't sure she wanted to get her hopes up.

"What kind of loophole?"

"The ritual was only supposed to work if the feelings between you and Jackson were real. But at the time, you didn't feel anything and I'm willing to bet on a romantic level you still don't feel anything for him. Yet the ritual still took, which means that what you were told about the ritual wasn't completely true," Davina explained, a hint of a smile playing on her lips.

Hayley tried to wrap her head around what Davina was telling her. It did all make sense now that Davina was explaining it to her. Jackson told her that in order for the ritual to take and continue working afterwards that the feelings between them had to be real and that they had to act like a real married couple.

And Davina was right, what Hayley felt for Jackson was not on a romantic level. She had once thought it was but after Jackson had left her because he got mad that she was constantly helping out the Mikaelson's, she'd realized she didn't love him romantically...only platonically. Had she loved him romantically, him leaving her would have made her feel pain in her heart. But she didn't. Honestly, she didn't even really miss him that much...not as much as she constantly missed Elijah, who she knew she loved.

"How did it work at all then?" Hayley asked, hoping Davina had an answer to her question.

"From what I found out, the ritual only needed one of you to feel something for the other," Davina answered honestly.

"How does that change anything? The bond is still needed for the wolves to have free will to change whenever they want to," Hayley reminded her.

"That's where the spell I found comes in," Davina replied. "The spell allows for the bond to change to a link."

Hayley was confused. What the hell was that supposed to mean?

Davina sensed her confusion and went on to explain, "Since the ritual only needed one of you feeling romantic feelings for the other, the spell I found will allow the bond to be transferred to a link. The link in this case being Jackson's feelings for you. As long as he feels what he feels for you, the link would allow what the bond was for to stay in tact."

Hayley couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was she just hearing things? Or was this actually happening?

"I couldn't possibly do that to Jackson," Hayley said after a while. "I may not truly love him in a romantic sense but I do love him as a friend."

Davina sighed. "I figured that much. But it's not fair to either of you to continue on this charade. Jackson will always in some way feel something for you, so the link slash bond will stay in tact until his death. And since it's his feelings really keeping the bond alive no matter what happens it was always going to end as soon as he dies. So there's really no reason to stay with him now."

Hayley shook her head. "I don't know if..."

Davina held up a hand to cut her off. "Hayley, you don't truly love him and you never will. You owe it to yourself to let yourself be free again so you can find your true happiness and your true love," Davina told her.

"That would be selfish of me to do, Davina," Hayley argued. "I'm many things, but selfish isn't one of them."

"It's okay to be selfish every once in a while. Not only that, doing this would not be selfish at all. You owe it to Jackson to give him a chance to find true love on his own. He deserves more than to be in a one sided relationship for the rest of his life. He deserves a choice at true happiness that wasn't constantly pushed into his head for his entire upbringing. That's not selfish," Davina informed her. "That's something that a true friend would do."

Davina was making a lot of sense with what she was saying.

"Don't you want to be with Elijah?" Davina asked her, suddenly taking Hayley off guard.

Hayley was too shocked by the question in that moment that she couldn't find it in her to answer just yet.

"You love Elijah, everybody with two working eyes can see it. You are madly in love with Elijah, always have been and always will be," Davina said with a smile.

Hayley wasn't sure exactly how to respond to that.

"How..." Hayley trailed off, not being able to form a full question.

Davina understood what Hayley was trying to ask even when she couldn't herself. "How do I know you're in love with Elijah?"

Hayley nodded, confirming that that was pretty much the question she had in mind but couldn't ask herself.

"The one good thing about only being acknowledged mainly when I'm needed for something is that I have more time to observe things going on around me," Davina answered. "I see the way you look at him when he's not looking and when Jackson isn't around. You still look at Elijah now like you looked at him before. If being married to someone that isn't Elijah can't change how deeply you feel for him then most likely nothing ever will change how you feel about him."

Hayley pulled her drink in front of her and took a few sips, using the drink cup to act as a cover up so that she could look down and wipe the tears from her eyes. Davina was right, she was absolutely right. Hayley's feelings for Elijah never went away throughout her marriage to Jackson. If anything, they grew stronger. After all the saying goes "absence makes the heart grow fonder."

"You look at Elijah like I used to look at Kol."

The words Davina spoke were so quiet that if she hadn't had super hearing, she wouldn't have heard them at all.

Hayley quickly dried up her tears and looked up at Davina, noticing a few tears in the corner of her own eyes. She now understood without even having to ask Davina why Davina went looking for such a spell in the first place. They were friends now, and friends always wanted what was best for their friends. Even more so if they had lost someone or something and could help their friend who could still have a chance with what or who they lost.

"Oh, Davina," Hayley said quietly, reaching across the table to place one of her hands on Davina's.

Davina smiled briefly as she wiped her tears away and blinked her eyes a couple of times.

"Now that I've found a spell to make this work out well for everyone involved, please think about it," Davina said to Hayley. "With the new threat lurking, and Rebekah already immobilized proving that even Originals are able to have a downfall..." Davina trailed off for a short moment to get her thoughts together. "Just don't waste anymore time pretending to love someone you don't. Don't waste anymore time pretending you don't love someone that you do. Make the right choice."

Hayley opened her mouth to reply but before she could the waitress appeared at the table with their food.

 **~TheRightChoice~**

After eating their lunch in complete silence, Hayley and Davina both agreed to split the bill. Once Hayley gathered up Hope and the diaper bag, the three of them made their way out of the diner. Before going to their separate cars, Davina turned to face Hayley.

"Think about it, okay," she told her. "Make the right choice."

Hayley nodded. "I will."

"Call me when you've decided what you want to do and we'll take it from there," Davina said, turning to Hope to give her a quick smile and shake of her adorable little hand. "I will talk to you sometime later, Hayley."

With that, Davina turned and walked away.

Hayley sighed as she walked to her car, heading for the passenger's side back door. She opened the door and placed Hope in her car seat, strapping her securely in. Hayley threw the diaper bag into the seat next to her and shut the door, making her way to the drivers seat. Hayley got in, locked all the doors, and then sat there.

She smiled into the rearview mirror at her daughter who happily smiled back. Hayley couldn't possibly ever imagine a life without Hope. But could she imagine a life without Jackson or Elijah? That was the key question in deciding what the right choice for her to make was.

"Mommy doesn't know what choice to make," Hayley said to her daughter. That was actually a lie, she knew exactly what choice was the right choice. She was just afraid that despite what Davina said, the right choice would surely make someone hate her. Normally, she wouldn't care whether someone liked her or hated her but it was different when that someone was someone she cared for.

"Who of the two can we live without if we have to, Hope?" Hayley asked, this decision wasn't just hers to make, it was Hope's as well.

Hope may have only been about a year and a half old, but she wasn't like most kids her age. She was much wiser. She didn't know what was going on exactly but she knew both Elijah and Jackson enough to be able to help her mother make a decision.

"Should we choose Jackson?"

Hayley watched her daughters reaction to hearing her say his name.

"Or should we choose Elijah?"

Hayley once again watched her daughter's reaction to hearing her say his name this time.

It wasn't surprising that Hope had a slightly different reaction to Hayley saying both of their names.

Hayley nodded her head in agreeance with Hope. "That's the choice that I was thinking to," she informed her.

After thinking everything over more, Hayley decided that she should go ahead and get the hard part out of the way, which actually was not that hard at all considering what had been going on with the two of them lately.

"I should call him now," she said, receiving a coo from Hope as her way of agreeing with her, as she pulled out her cellphone and dialed his number.

He picked up after just two rings.

"Hayley."

"We need to talk."

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 _ **Alright, so there it is! Chapter 1! I wonder who Hayley called? Any guesses? Please be sure to leave me a review and let me know what you all thought of the chapter! I hope to have the next chapter posted ASAP for you all!**_


	2. Can Not Go On Like This Anymore

_**Hey everyone!**_

 _ **I wanna thank all of you for your support of the first chapter. Your reviews, favorites, and follows mean a lot to me. As a writer, it is always satisfying to know that others like my writing.**_

 _ **Sorry it took me so long to post this chapter. I don't like Jackson's character at all so writing him wasn't easy to do, especially without turning him into an asshole. But, I managed. lol. Also to make this chapter work out, I took the liberty to change a few details that happened on the show.**_

 _ **I hope you all enjoy!**_

 _ **Disclaimer:** I don't own anything associated with The Originals...I just like to play around with the characters sometimes. I only own the plot._

* * *

 **Chapter 2 - Can Not Go On Like This Anymore**

When Hayley arrived home later that day, she was surprised to find that it wasn't Jackson waiting for her. It was his grandmother. Jackson had actually sent his grandmother to talk to her, she couldn't believe it. For someone who said he loved her, he was acting real cowardly. Why didn't he come talk to her himself? Did he get a feeling over the phone of what Hayley wanted to talk to him about and just did not want to face her? Even if he did, though, it didn't give him the right to act like a coward.

Mary spent quite a bit of time trying to convince her to go talk to Jackson and fix things, something that answered her previous question to herself. Jackson had gotten a feeling of what Hayley wanted to talk to him about. He probably thought by sending his grandmother could change her mind and convince her to fix things between them. Deep down Hayley knew she didn't want to fix things, but at the same time she did not want to hurt him either. The least she could do was go talk to him and sort things out.

Hayley almost caved and went to the bayou since based on what Mary told her Jackson refused to come back there, but before she could she heard something and realized that something was going on across the street. Her instincts kicked in the moment she heard that Elijah was in trouble. Her sudden fear had kicked her into overdrive and without a second thought about it, ignoring Mary's words that were trying to keep her from going to help, she leapt from her balcony to his. She was glad she did. He was fighting off three or more guys at once, even an Original had something to worry about there. After helping Elijah with the guys that were attacking him, she barely had a second to think anything before Marcel appeared and drove a dagger into his back.

"Elijah!"

She could hear the broken sound of her voice as she called out his name. Her heart suddenly felt like it had been broken in half, the pain had been unbearable. That had been the moment when she was sure Elijah was the right choice. She knew that he was an original and that he couldn't be killed, yet when she witnessed him get daggered, which would have killed a normal person, Hayley knew without a doubt that the right choice was Elijah. He was the one that she couldn't bare to think of living without. It wasn't a possibility, but it was the thought that meant something. Hayley's decision was set in stone from that point on and nothing would change that. Davina had been right, Elijah was the one. He was it for her.

 **~TheRightChoice~**

It was already the day after Christmas and Hayley still hadn't found the time to talk to Jackson and to explain everything that was going on. Davina was still waiting for Hayley's answer so that she would know what her next move was, but Hayley wanted to sort everything out with Jackson and Elijah before she told Davina her decision. She owed Jackson and Elijah explanations before anything happened. Otherwise, things were sure to get even more crazy than they already were between the three of them now.

After dealing with crazy Rebekah and having to listen to her extremely painful truth bombs the night before, Hayley knew that she couldn't let anything else get her in way. She had to explain everything and end things with Jackson as soon as possible. Hayley didn't want to unintentionally put Elijah through anymore heartbreak and pain than she already had. She had to fix things and she had to fix them fast.

Hayley put Hope to bed for the night and walked out into the living room area where Jackson was sitting on the couch waiting for her. Now was the right time to do this. It was time for them to settle things and start working towards moving on with both their lives. Hayley walked over to the couch and sat down next to him, leaving some space between them.

"I take it you already know what's coming?" Hayley asked rhetorically, being the one to start their conversation, not making eye contact.

She didn't love him like he loved her, but she still loved him as a friend. It was just as hard breaking this particular type of news to a friend as it was to someone who was more than that.

"We can make this work," he said, looking at her.

Hayley sighed, playing with her hands in her lap. "No we can't," she insisted, shaking her head.

"Hayley, it doesn't have to be this way," he argued, reaching over to put his hand over hers.

"Actually it does," she told him, snatching her hands away. "I don't love you like I should in order to stay in this marriage any longer than I already have. I was only staying for the pack, and maybe even a little for you...but only because you're my friend and I didn't want to hurt you," Hayley explained as she finally looked up at him. "After talking to a friend of mine, I finally realized that you deserve better," she continued when he didn't say anything to her. "That I deserve better," she added as an afterthought.

"Hayley, please," Jackson pleaded.

Hayley shook her head, refusing to cave. Her mind was set and nothing was going to change that. "Don't waste your breath. Nothing you say or do is going to make me change my mind. We both deserve better and if I have to be the bitch who finally puts her foot down and makes sure that is what happens, then so be it. It's time to stop living in this sham marriage universe. We both deserve to be with someone who loves only us and loves us for who we are, not for who someone told us that we were."

Something changed in Jackson's eyes. "Is this about, Elijah?"

"You knew it from the very beginning and you still married me," Hayley answered without giving him a direct answer.

Jackson stood up and began pacing in front of her. "I should have known."

Hayley couldn't agree more. The signs were all there. He asked her about it before they got married and he should have known that her feelings for Elijah were too strong to ever change. She would not stop feeling what she was feeling for Elijah, not ever.

"Elijah deserves better just as much as we do. This whole time, I have been hurting him," Hayley said, trying to keep her voice from breaking. "I can't hurt him anymore than I already have."

"Is that the only reason you're trying to end this?" Jackson asked, pausing mid pace.

Hayley scoffed at this question. "No, of course not. How could you even suggest such a thing?!" she exclaimed, jumping up from the couch. "He may have been a deciding factor in my decision, but it's not all because of him. I just told you why I was doing this and the main reason has nothing to do with him."

"It sure sounds like it," Jackson told her sounding more harsh than he probably intended to.

"Well, I don't mean for it to sound like it," Hayley said truthfully. "I just think that we both deserve so much better than being stuck in a marriage that takes away our chances of being truly happy."

Jackson reached forward to grasp her arms and this time Hayley didn't snatch herself away. "But I am happy! I'm happy with you and with Hope."

Hayley shook her head, sighing. "Because you've had the thought of me forced into your brain since you were born," Hayley informed him. "You don't really love me at all! You only love the idea of me. I deserve better than that! And you deserve the chance to go out into the world and find someone who will actually love you and not just be with you for the pack."

There was a moment of silence between them.

"Now that you mention it, what about the pack?" Jackson asked as a last ditch effort to try and get Hayley to change her mind.

His question suddenly reminded Hayley of something that instantly made her feel a bit angry. God help him if he had known about this all along.

"Did you know?" Hayley asked as she quickly pulled away from his grasp and moved to the other side of the coffee table.

Jackson raised an eyebrow, not sure what she was referring to. "Know what?"

Hayley looked him dead in his eyes and answered, "That my true feelings for you never mattered at all."

"What are you talking about?" he asked, honestly clueless.

Lucky him for honestly not knowing the truth.

"I don't love you like the ritual called for to work," she answered him, crossing her arms tight against her chest. "Yet, it somehow works. As it turns out, you think you love me and that's why it works even though I don't love you back. All the ritual really needed was the strong feelings that one of us was feeling for the other. Nothing is that easy, I should have known that there was some sort of consequence of trying to take the easy way out."

"I don't believe that. It's not possible," Jackson insisted, shaking his head in disbelief.

Hayley shrugged her shoulders. "Well believe it because it's the truth," she replied. "There's a spell that will allow for the bond between us to be turned into a link to you and since no one will ever be able to convince you that you don't really love me like you think you do then as long as you're alive the pack will still be able to channel my power," Hayley explained to him.

Jackson didn't say anything.

"We just can not go on like this anymore." Hayley sighed. "Tomorrow you can move back to the bayou and Hope and I will move back in with Elijah, Klaus, and Freya."

Jackson still didn't say anything and sat down on the couch with his face in his hands.

"I'm sorry," Hayley said, apologizing sincerely as she took of her wedding ring and placed it on the table.

It hurt her to make him feel this way, but she knew it was the right thing to do. They couldn't continue living a lie like this. More importantly, she couldn't. It wasn't fair to anyone to go on like this. Despite feeling bad about it, which was understandable considering everything, she knew she was making the right choice now. The pain she was feeling now that she'd ended things with Jackson was no where near as bad as what she had felt when she had to think of what it'd be like if Elijah was no longer in her life.

Now that was a pain that she never wanted to feel again. She was almost a hundred percent positive that if she ever had to deal with losing Elijah for good...she would never be able to recover from it. Other than Hope, Elijah was the one person in her life that she could never even dream of living without. That very fact was the reason why Hayley was and always would be forever grateful that Elijah was an Original and could not be killed.

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 ** _So, there you have it! Chapter 2! Please be sure to leave me a review and let me know what you all thought of the chapter! I hope to have the next chapter posted ASAP for you all!_**


	3. Making the Right Choice

_**Hey everyone!**_

 _ **As always, I want to thank all of you for your support for the last chapter and your continued support of the whole story and all my other stories and drabbles! All of it means the absolute world to me, more than you'll ever be able to know.**_

 _ **Now without any further ado, the chapter you have all been waiting for...Haylijah interaction!**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

 _ **Disclaimer:** I don't own anything associated with The Originals...I just like to play around with the characters sometimes. I only own the plot._

* * *

 **Chapter 3 - Making the Right Choice**

Hayley woke up the next morning to the feeling of something slightly heavy falling on top of her followed by the feeling of that same something crawling over her. She quickly opened her eyes and was shocked to find two cute, happy looking eyes staring back at her. Hayley sat up and looked up towards the crib above her and then back to Hope. When she decided to sleep on the nursery floor the night before, Hayley had not expected to be woken up this way.

"Did you climb out of your crib?" she asked her daughter, still shocked by the fact that it had indeed happened. "You're not even two years old yet."

Hope giggled in response.

Hayley smiled back at her. "You really are my daughter."

Hayley stood up with Hope in her arms and stretched as well as she could given the circumstances. The floor hadn't been the most comfortable sleeping arrangement but she didn't want to sleep in her old room the night before. It no longer felt right to her. She instead had chosen to sleep in her daughter's room. Hayley wasn't so sure she liked her decision anymore. Too late to change her mind now.

After changing Hope's diaper and putting on her day clothes, Hayley made her way out into the kitchen to make Hope breakfast. She put Hope in her high chair and then looked around the room. Something was different. Hayley eyed every little nook and cranny of the room, but didn't notice anything out of place. What was the difference that she was feeling? Could it be that she was feeling the effects of being newly single again? Yeah, that's exactly what it was that she was feeling.

Hayley went back to making Hope's breakfast. Just as she placed Hope's food bowl in front of her, Hayley heard a knock on the door. Smiling at her daughter, she made her way to the front door and opened it to find Davina standing on the other side of it.

Davina smiled. "Hi, can I come in?"

Hayley nodded and stepped out of the way so Davina could come in.

"What are you doing here so early?" Hayley asked, closing the door.

Davina turned to face her. "I came to see if you'd made a choice yet," she answered.

Hayley opened her mouth to answer her, but Davina beat quickly beat her to it.

"I ran into Jackson downstairs and he was carrying a suitcase," Davina told her. "So I already know."

So that was the actual cause of the different feeling that Hayley had felt before. Jackson had already left.

"I'm guessing you haven't talked to Elijah about everything yet?" Davina questioned rhetorically, turning and heading over to the kitchen area to say hi to Hope.

Hayley shook her head. "Nope. I just broke up with Jackson last night."

Davina nodded her head as her way of saying that she understood. "If you would like me to do so, I could stay here and watch Hope while you go talk to Elijah," Davina offered.

Hayley's eyes widened, momentarily shocked at Davina's offer. Was it just her or did Davina really want her and Elijah to be together?

Davina smiled seeming to be reading her mind then. "I know you want to go talk to him."

Hayley couldn't disagree with her even if she tried. The break up with Jackson was still quite fresh, but just the thought of telling Elijah that there was a way for them to be together now and seeing his reaction was enough to make a smile break out onto Hayley's face.

"There is no time like the present, Hayley," Davina told her upon seeing the sudden smile on Hayley's face. "Go tell the guy that you are in love with that you two will be able to be work on getting together in a couple weeks or so," she urged her.

Hayley didn't have to be told twice. She kissed Hope on the forehead before dashing towards the door. "Thank you, Davina! I owe you one!"

Davina laughed in response. "Don't mention it!" she called after her.

Hayley ran out the door, slamming it shut behind her. She practically fell down the stairs as she rushed down them and out the front door of her apartment building. She didn't want to waste anymore time, she needed to see Elijah and to tell him the good news. It was time for her to release him from the pain she'd been causing him for way too long now.

Hayley rushed into the courtyard and made a beeline to the stairs. There was only one place to find Elijah this early in the morning, it was almost like clockwork for him to be there every morning. Hayley walked down the long hallway until she was standing in front of the door to Elijah's study. Without a second thought, she reached forward to grab the door handle and she twisted it, pushing the door open and making her way inside.

A small smile found its way onto Elijah's face when he looked up from his book and saw her standing there. The smile was apparently contagious because before she could stop herself, Hayley was smiling a small smile right back at him. They stayed that way, just smiling at each other, for some time.

"Where's Hope?" Elijah asked as he leaned forward and placed his book down on the table in front of him.

"She's at the apartment. Davina is watching her for me while I am over here talking to you," Hayley answered, reaching up with her left hand to brush a stray strand of hair out of her face.

"Davina's watching her? What about..." he trailed off when he caught sight of Hayley's now bare hand. "You are not wearing your ring anymore?" Elijah immediately observed.

Hayley brought her hand down and held it out in front of her. Her hand was bare now and she was surprised that it didn't bother her in even the slightest. Hayley at least figured that she would miss the feeling of something on her finger after having gotten used to it, but she didn't feel anything at all.

"I broke up with Jackson last night," Hayley admitted to Elijah who promptly stood up and cautiously made his way over to her. "It wasn't fair to him or me to stay together any longer," she told him. "Nor was it at all fair to you," she confessed as she felt guilt overcome her and she bowed her head in shame. "It killed me to hurt you over and over again. I didn't mean to do it but it still killed me."

She felt like she was going to burst into tears at any moment. The guilt she was drowning herself in was almost too much for her to bare. It was times like this when being a hybrid and having heightened senses and feelings revealed their downsides to her.

"None of my pain is your fault, Hayley," Elijah said sincerely, reaching out and placing one of his hands under her chin to gently lift her head so that she was staring at him.

Hayley shook her head, refusing to let him take her guilt away from her. She didn't believe for even a second that any of his pain was his fault, it was all hers. It was just like him, though, to try to make her feel better even when she didn't deserve to feel better.

"You're just saying that," Hayley argued as she quickly turned away from him.

"No, I'm not, Hayley," Elijah assured her. "I told you to go through with the ritual. I knew what I was signing myself up for when I did that. I knew the pain I would endure because of it. It's the price of doing the right thing, the selfless thing."

"I shouldn't have gone through with it. I should have figured out some other way to fix things," Hayley insisted, spinning back around to face him again. "I took the easy way out and everyone suffered in some way, shape, or form because of it."

"At the time, it was the only thing to do and we didn't have any time to figure out any other way," Elijah said, stepping closer to her and placing his hands on her arms in a comforting manner.

Hayley felt herself immediately begin to calm down due to his touch. Elijah always did have a calming effect on her.

"Alright, so maybe you are right about that." Hayley sighed, finally allowing herself to correctly process his words. "But that doesn't change the fact that I acted like a total bitch towards you. I basically I only came to you when I wanted something."

Hayley frowned upon hearing her own confession. It was one thing to hear someone else say such things like that, but it was a whole other thing when someone says those things about themselves. It's so much worse. She had always prided herself on being selfless, but now...she was starting to think that she was anything but.

"How can you even want anything to do with me anymore?!" Hayley exclaimed, pulling herself from Elijah's grasp. "I wouldn't even want anything to do with me anymore if I were in your shoes."

"Hayley," Elijah said, trying to save her from her own self. "Why are you trying to find anything to make yourself feel guilty over?" he asked. "For as long as I have known you, you have never acted this way before."

"Yeah, well...I only just recently came face to face with some hard truths," she replied, turning and walking over to the bookshelf opposite of where he was standing.

"Everything you did, every choice you made this past year was with Hope's best interest in mind. You did what you thought was best for her. I can't fault you for any of that," Elijah told her. "You especially shouldn't fault yourself for any of it."

"But," Hayley started to argue.

Elijah quickly cut her off, walking over to her. "But nothing, Hayley. I am over one thousand years old. I've had my share of pain in the past. I'm more than capable of handling and overcoming much more."

"That doesn't make it any easier on me," Hayley admitted as she turned to face him. "I know deep down that it should, but it doesn't."

"Wasn't it you who once told me that you live in the now?" Elijah asked rhetorically, giving her a pointed look. "Making yourself feel guilty about past regrets, no matter how fresh the regrets are, is not you living in the now. It's you living in the past. You can't change what you've already said or done. All you can do is learn from the past. Or else you will repeat it instead."

Hayley chuckled. "You're using my own words against me."

"In a good way," Elijah assured her. "Is it working?"

Hayley thought about it for a moment before responding, "Surprisingly, yes, it is." She looked at him and smiled as he way of thanking him. "I guess I just needed a reminder to bring me back down to earth."

Elijah smiled. "I'm honored to be the one to help you back down."

Hayley looked at him thoughtfully.

Noticing her thoughtful expression, Elijah inquired, "What's on your mind?"

"I'm just thinking about how I'm once again being proven to that I really did make the right choice," Hayley answered honestly.

"Choice? What choice?" Elijah asked curiously.

"Yesterday, Davina asked me to breakfast because she wanted to tell me that she came across a spell that could help solve all of our problems," Hayley spoke in an informative tone of voice.

Elijah raised an eyebrow. "What kind of spell?"

"A spell that would allow us to finally have a chance together while still making it so that the pack can have access to my shifting abilities," Hayley explained to him. "In turn, I was left with a choice to make. Jackson or you."

"And you chose..." Elijah trailed off mid sentence.

"You," Hayley finished for him. "I chose you."

Elijah wasn't sure he could believe what he was hearing. She chose him? After all this time, she really chose him?

"You're sure about this?"

Hayley nodded her head without any hesitation. "I love you, Elijah," she confessed, looking at him with an intense gaze. "And I'm tired of trying to pretend like I don't just for the sake of everyone else. I know that makes me a little selfish but Davina made me realize that it's okay to be selfish every once in a while. Not to mention, it seems selfish now but with time it'll all play out the right way and selfish won't seem so bad anymore."

"As long as you're absolutely sure about this," Elijah said with a smile after processing in his mind everything that she told him. "I can't complain."

Hayley grinned as she took a few steps closer to him until she could wrap her arms around him. "I am really glad to hear it," she said, pressing her face into him and breathing in deep.

She had missed him so much. She had missed his scent. She had missed how his arms always felt around her, how safe and so very happy she felt. In Elijah's arms felt a lot like the home she'd always wanted growing up.

Elijah happily returned the hug, pulling her as close to him as possible. "For the record, I love you, too."

Hayley smiled into Elijah's shirt. "You don't realize just how happy I am to hear you say that," she told him, tightening her arms even tighter around him. "I really did make the right choice. It has always been you. It will always be you."

"And you for me," Elijah told her.

That was all the proof that Hayley needed to know that everything would always work out the way that it was meant to in the end. And, the right choice was right there in front of her...always and forever.

* * *

 ** _So, there you have it! Chapter 3! For now this is the final chapter, but maybe one day I wi_** ** _ll add more to it. Please be sure to leave me a review and let me know what you all thought of the chapter!_**


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